USB Mass Storage Conflict - Memorex Thumb Drive & Maxtor USB Drive

[Guest]

My client runs Windows XP Professional. We bought a new Memorex USB 1GB
Thumb Drive (sometimes called a memory key, jump drive, etc). The unit
worked out of the box. Later we installed a Maxtor External USB hard drive
and that worked fine. Two weeks later I put in the thumb drive to
demonstrate how to make files portable. The unit failed, with an XP error
that said the USB device was not recognized, and that it may be defective. I
tried my Microsoft 64mb, similar device and it worked fine. I exchanged the
Memorex unit at CDW. Two weeks later I visit my client with the replaced
part and find the same problem. Further testing revealed that when I remove
the Maxtor drive, the Memorex Thumb drive works fine. It does not matter
which USB ports are used, the result is the same. CDW technical support
could not figure the problem out and referred me to Memorex Technical
Support. Memorex Techs walked me through re-labeling the drive letter /
volume name, thinking it was a possible conflict. This did not solve the
problem either. They suggested calling Microsoft.

Now I ask, why all these problems with a new component? Is Memorex always
going to conflict with Maxtor? I know we will have problems with the return
of the Memorex Thumb Drive, as we do not have a box due to the nature of the
business changes occuring with my client. Is there some reasonable
explanation for this failure? Why did my Microsoft 64mb memory stick work
fine?

John Marcus
(e-mail address removed)
www.ncord.com

 

[Guest]

i have the same problem, though it is not limited to one type of storage
card/drive.when i disable the mass storage unit i can read my "kingston Jump
drive" and my "Dane-Elec 9 in 4 Card Reader", as soon as i enable the drive
no other reader works. no-one seems to know what the problem is (maxtor,
Dane-elec, Kingston, Microsoft, various other groups.).

is there anyone who has been able to fix this problem as i need to
enable/disable quite a few times a day.

regards
zoran

 

[DaveP]

I just spent days looking for a problem with my new 1GB flash drive.
Looooooooooooooooong story.

Tonight, just after 12:30 AM, after doing more stuff than I care to talk
about, I found an old USB flash drive reader program with that I got years
ago with my camera that reads my camera cards, it was the ENTIRE problem.

Said program is called "ZiO" from www.microtechint.com which by the way
doesnt appear to have a working website any longer.

Uninstalled program and all my problems are gone. Really blows. lol

I had been working with MS support on this. Tomorrow I will share my
findings with them.

Good luck,
Dave P

 

[Guest]

seems there MIGHT be a fix for the problem but microsoft don't see it as an
important issue - you need to download microsoft hotfix KB892050, though
microsoft wont make it available for public download until the release of
Service Pack 3 some time late next year. u can phone microsoft and ask for
the hotfix (seems emailing is too technical), but i am not sure if u pay. if
u only have mobile phone it could be an expensive call.

 

[Guest]

To all, thank you. I will let my client know. CDW stands by their name, and
my sales executive kindly is taking back the conflicting Memorex drive
without the box for a full refund, and directly sending my client a
replacement, SanDisk USB drive. Since he never has received a complaint on
the SanDisk unit, he thought that would be a good choice. Even though the
Memorex drive was cheaper, he is sending the SanDisk unit to my customer at
the same price and including free shipping.

Who could ask for a better vendor.

 

[tjackson52]

As the person above noted, it isn't limited to one kind of device. I
got a Maxtor 3100 USB drive. Once it is connected to my Windows XP
Professional machine, my Cowon iAudio flash audio player is no longer
recognized until I turn off the Maxtor. Before I knew what the problem
was, Dell spent hours with me trying to debug problem. Maxtor offered
essentially no assistance.